From the first seeds planted in the 1860's to the growth of orange orchard production in the 1880's, planting, harvesting, packing and shipping oranges and other fruit has been a major industry in and around Porterville.  The sweet scented bounty drew investors to the area, property values grew and Porterville was firmly established as the orange orchard capital of Tulare County.

 

Before digital photography and computerized printing became available, posters, labels and other forms of advertising were created from artist renderings and produced on mechanical printing presses.  So it was with the colorful and attractive fruit packing crate labels in popular use from the 1880's to the late 1920's.  Joe Faure (Faure Orange Co.) and John McWilliams, the museum's volunteer archivist, drew from their own collections to bring this wonderful exhibit to life.  They assembled an exhibit of original fruit packing crate labels and vintage photographs relating to the local citrus industry.  Oranges, lemons, limes, plums and other fruit packing crate labels are represented.  Some of these labels are rare--and all are vibrant, colorful works of art.  

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This page shows only a very few of the labels displayed in the exhibit.  Come to the Museum and see all of these beautiful labels for yourself.  While you're here, ask a Docent for a tour.  

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